The Long Year
by Scarlet Secret
Summary: This story will be quite long by the end. Be warned! Set during OotP, what was Rita Skeeter doing with her year off?


Rita Resigned.

_It could have been worse, just keep telling yourself that Rita, it could have been much, much worse. _

She consoled herself; _At least they didn't ask any awkward questions._

Rita Skeeter, the newly resigned ex-reporter for the Daily Prophet was, for the first time since she had left Hogwarts, on the verge of tears. And not the quietly dignified single tear down the cheek sort of crying; the full on emotion, wailing, stamping of the feet, shouting and screaming sort of tears. In short a tantrum.

Rita knew, of course that grown women do not throw tantrums in the middle of a high street; but the mere thought of Hermione Granger was enough to make her forget that she was a business woman who needed to retain her mystique if she was at all likely to ever work again. However, it was a very thin line.

In retrospect her actual resignation was not nearly as bad as it could have been. The editor of the prophet, possibly the only man she ever had any respect for, had looked at her as though she had grown a second head when she had stood in front of his desk, like a schoolgirl again, and told him of her intentions. He had thought she was bluffing for a larger wage packet, poor dear; the sheer exasperation on his face when she handed him her written resignation had in itself almost made her cry.

He had stood, walked around his desk and closed the door, as if a block of wood would stop her leaving, and proceeded to tell her all the reasons why she should stay. Even though she had enjoyed being told that her writing was possibly the finest in the country and was the reason most people read the newspaper, it had made it considerably harder for her to insist she wanted a break from the spotlight, and therefore the praise was not welcome.

Not really wanting to hear of his desperate plans for a replacement she had left the office, walked into the main office, which all the reporters shared, even her, and tried to look unassuming as she left, unfortunately Rita Skeeter was born to stand out and she was accosted by her photographer, Bozo.

Without even realising anything was wrong he asked her where they were off to, assuming she was leaving for a job. She had been forced to tell him in the quietest whisper she could manage that she was leaving for good, her had not immediately caught on and it took her having to plainly say, "I'm resigning" before he caught on. Unfortunately everybody else had chosen that moment to go quiet.

Rita, although she had never been shy, would have given anything in the world to be invisible at that moment, the astonished eyes of her colleagues was too much for her and as the buzz began to resume she knew what they were discussing. And that they were drawing straws to see who got to write the story that the public would want to hear. Why the biggest gossip queen in the Wizarding world would suddenly and unexpectedly resign?

She could hear them shouting "Hold Page One!" as she left, or at least she could have sworn she did. At that moment she swore she'd never read the Prophet again.

Rita practically ran until she had put at least half a mile between her and the Prophet building, no mean feat in the shoes she was wearing, but it was not the first time she'd been forced to run in heels.

Oh god! All the office parties, the things I said when I was drunk – how much dirt have they got on ME? Is this really how I made everybody feel? Any day they could pick up the paper and find themselves slandered?

She resigned herself not to think about the media, she wasn't allowed to be involved in it after all, thanks to Little Miss Perfect. For a year she could let the girl have her way, but she couldn't afford to be unemployable forever, or in Azkaban. Rita had an inkling however that the Ministry wouldn't throw her in prison just for being an Animagus; in fact she could claim she learnt in her year off and be back at the top this time next year.

As she turned the corner to her house she was almost blinded by the sun; it had been years since she had been able to enjoy the weather; perhaps a little sunbathing would improve her mood?

Thinking about it a year off won't really do me any harm, I can relax and be back on top form…

Her train of thought was interrupted as she opened her front door and immediately trod on the pile of bills on her welcome mat.

…Or I can become a hermit.


End file.
